


Woman with Blue Hair

by regretful_insomnimaniac



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Eventual Smut, F/F, Fluff, Human AU, Modern AU, Probably a lot of fluff, Sexual Tension, Short beginning chapters, au where pearl is happy, coffee shop AU, greg doesn't exist, i guess, love at first sight AU, slight angst, sorry - Freeform, space lesbian trash
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-03
Updated: 2016-04-28
Packaged: 2018-05-24 13:22:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,754
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6155044
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/regretful_insomnimaniac/pseuds/regretful_insomnimaniac
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A modern love story about how Ruby and Sapphire met and where their relationship goes from there.</p><p>It all begins in a coffee shop.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Meeting

Ruby stomped into the nondescript Crystal Gem Coffee Shop, adjusting her red headband around her bouncy curls. She brushed off the remnants of snow clinging to her clothes. Her gaze immediately snapped to Amethyst, who was donned in the uniform apron and brown shirt. Amethyst grinned wickedly when she saw Ruby come through the door, flinging off her hat and barreling to her friend, long purple hair flowing behind her. 

"Took you long enough, Rub," Amethyst said with a smirk, looping an arm over Ruby's shoulders.

Ruby scowled, and then finally smiled back. "Get back to work Ames. I've got things to do."

"Aw you're no fun," Amethyst scowled. "And you mean you're here to check out that one lady I told you about."

Ruby sputtered,"I-I did not. I brought my laptop to work on an article I have to write." She punctuated her point by lifting up the bag weighed down by said laptop.

Amethyst rolled her eyes pointedly and sauntered back to where she was cleaning off a table. "Whatever helps you sleep at night."

Ruby winced as several customers glanced over at her and went up to the counter, ordering a coffee quickly and going back to sit at a table that was Amethyst-free. Ruby uncoiled her laptop charger, all while scanning the shop for who she had just denied looking for.

Amethyst had told Ruby that this woman was "just her type" and "bright blue eyes I know you love." 

Ruby had only come out of curiosity, she told herself.

And then, right on schedule(apparently she only came at ten o'clock on the dot), a blue-haired woman walked through the door, almost floating off the ground with her light steps. It was like the rules of gravity didn't apply to her. Ruby could feel her mouth gaping open and she felt her back subconsciously straighten. 

The rumors were true; she was beautiful. Her beauty was unearthly. Her long pale blue hair wisped through the air after her, choppy bangs concealing her eyes. She wore a flowing blue dress that seemed to float with her.

Amethyst pounced on Ruby, forcibly knocking her out of her daze. "You are a dirty liiiiar." She drew out the word with a smirk.

Ruby shook her head violently and turned her head to glare at Amethyst. "And you're supposed to be working."

"I'm on break now."

"I only saw you working for five minutes."

"I was working for... a while before that," Amethyst retorted, snickering. "Back to the important subject at hand. You want me to try to help set you two up?"

Ruby'a face flushed a vivid red. "Please don't."

Amethyst stood on her toes and hollered,"Hey, mystery woman!"

Ruby recoiled and burrowed her face into her arms, and then risked a glance up.

The woman's face turned their way, and through the fringe, Ruby could see bright blue eyes looking monotonously at the pair.

Ruby's face darkened further and she winced in embarrassment. Amethyst grinned when the lady started walking towards them.


	2. Awkward Things

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> very awkward things

"Did you need something?" the woman asked, walking over to them with light steps.

"Yeah, my friend Ruby wanted to-" Amethyst started, gesturing widely to her. 

Ruby elbowed Amethyst's side. "Sorry for bothering you, my  _friend_ ," Ruby said, her face blushing furiously,"just wanted to say hi."

Amethyst snorted. "Hi," she offered lamely, her head cocked in amusement.

"Oh," the woman said and that simple sound was like the most beautiful song. "Well, my name is Sapphire. It was nice to meet you." Sapphire stuck out a slender hand in a glove and extended it to Ruby.

She stared at it for a moment and then shook her hand, her larger fingers enveloping Sapphire's. Her hands were cool and Ruby suddenly started worrying that maybe her hand was too warm, or was she sweating or did she stare too long-

Sapphire retracted her hand, and every move she made looked like it had been practiced beforehand to perfect elegance. Sapphire simply nodded at Amethyst and continued to walk to the counter.

"You've already got it bad," Amethyst chatsized, interrupting Ruby from her reverrie. "And you barely got out a sentence.

"You didn't exactly help," Ruby growled, not protesting Amethyst's accusation. 

"At least you know her name now," Amethyst said consolingly, shaking her head as Ruby continued to stare at Sapphire as she got her order and sat down at a table not too far away from them.

Ruby slammed her forehead down onto the table, attracting more annoyed looks. Sapphire glanced over at them and the corner of her mouth rose slightly. Ruby looked up just in time to see Sapphire's lips turn into a straight line and her gaze return to her book.

"Hey, she looked at you. That's a thing," Amethyst chuckled, elbowing Ruby again.

Ruby scowled halfheartedly, glancing over at the blue-haired woman once more. She smiled despite herself.

"So Pearl and Rose are dragging me with to their date," Amethyst said, nudging Ruby to get her attention again. Amethyst sighed mockingly, brushing her purple hair off the side of her face. "Would you like to accompany me, madam?"

Ruby dragged her gaze back to Amethyst. "It's nothing fancy, right?"

She just shrugged. "Rose didn't say much, sorry."

"I guess I'll go," Ruby grumbled. "But you owe me one."

"Like setting you up with Sapphire? On it," Amethyst replied, grinning again.

Ruby rolled her eyes and leant back down to face her computer.

"I'll text you the details later, Rubs. For now, I gotta get back to work," Amethyst said and sauntered off again.

Ruby slouched in her chair and set to typing.

When she looked up again, Sapphire was gone and in her place was an old couple.

 

**A: so... Turns out it is fancy. Pearl just texted me to tell me to wear my best dress. -.-**

**R: great. I'll figure something out.**

Ruby groaned and flopped down on her bed, rubbing her eyes. She couldn't focus on anything; all she could think about were those few glimpses of Sapphire's eyes she saw. This was getting ridiculous. Even though she'd heard plenty of the other woman, she barely knew her.

First things first, she'd focus on the dinner date-thing. She had no idea why Pearl and Rose would want Amethyst on their date.

Ruby thought she might have a suit somewhere. Hopefully.

She dug through her closet, finally finding a black suit. She hadn't worn it in at least a year. Ruby burrowed through a drawer and pulled out a blue tie. That should be good enough. 

 

* * *

 

A rapping at her door sent Ruby jumping in surprise. "Come in," she yelled out from her position with one arm in her jacket. 

Amethyst strolled into her apartment, whistling when she saw Ruby.

"You look great," Amethyst said earnestly. "Really," she said in response to Ruby's raised eyebrow.

"Whatever. When do we have to be there?" Ruby asked, adjusting her lapels.

"Ten minutes," Amethyst answered lazily, fidgeting in a black and purple dress that was long enough to hide the combat boots underneath.

"Shit, let's go then. I don't want to keep them waiting," Ruby muttered and tugged Amethyst back out the door. She let Ruby pull her along until they got to her car.

 

* * *

 

Ruby fidgeted in her chair, looking awkwardly down at her plate. Pearl was practically staring at Rose with love and admiration shining in her pale eyes. The pair were both dressed in flowing dresses.

The restaurant was really fancy; there was someone playing the piano and singing, there were candles everywhere, and the place reeked of that expensive sauce stuff.

Rose turned her attention to them and spread her arms wide, her fingernails painted a muted pink. "I wanted to invite our closest friends for this announcement. Naturally, you two were our first picks."

Ruby furrowed her brow in confusion. "I'm excited to hear it, but what about Lapis or Peridot?"

Pearl piped up. "We're telling them after it's official."

"Tell us, P," Amethyst urged, smiling widely. Pearl's skirts rustled as she adjusted in her seat, clasping her hands before her.

Pearl took a breath before the words came rushing out again. "We're getting married."

Both Ruby's and Amethyst's eyes widened in shock. "That's amazing, I'm so happy for you two," Ruby said. Amethyst punched her leg under the table. They had just started dating a couple months ago and neither knew how it would end up. Rose was known for going through dates like it was nothing. She'd never gotten engaged before, though. And Pearl had maybe dated steadily two other times.

"Yeah, that's great," Amethyst said through coughs.

"I've gotta go use the bathroom," Ruby said hastily, pushing her chair back suddenly and going in whatever direction seemed the most promising, taking her past the piano player. She glanced up to see a head of light blue hair. Deft, slender fingers played a harmony on the keys as her voice accompanied the melody. Ruby froze as she watched Sapphire weave a song that made her think of ice and fire, love and passion, bursts of color. Her heart stuttered in her chest, urging her to move before she was noticed staring. 

Sapphire tilted her head up, her eyes closed, and continued her song, unaware of the rapturous eyes following her every move. Her eyelids slowly opened and her gaze alighted on Ruby.


	3. The Piano Player

Ruby blushed furiously when she couldn't bring herself to wrench her gaze away. Sapphire's blue hair was pinned back in several places, revealing her striking blue eyes. Ruby could feel herself blushing darker and she tried to shake herself out of her trance.

Then Sapphire smiled at her.

Granted, it wasn't a full smile with teeth, but it was enough to send Ruby over the edge. She retreated to the bathroom with a squeak. She could hear Sapphire's voice hitch midway through her song, almost as if she was laughing- no, laughing wasn't the word for that, it was more so a  _giggle._

Ruby didn't know if her face could get any redder.

She ducked into the bathroom and immediately slammed the door shut accidentally. The music streamed in through the door and through a speaker in the corner. Ruby locked the door and slumped against the wall. Why were her legs shaking and why did she react so strongly to Sapphire just looking at her?

Those were questions to ponder later; right now she had to support her friends and prevent Amethyst from doing anything stupid. And of course Sapphire worked in the very place they had a one-time dinner at.

Moments later, Ruby scurried out of the bathroom, risking a glance at the piano again. Thankfully, Sapphire had her eyes closed again and was simply swaying along to the keys she tapped.

Ruby returned to the table, hoping to go mostly unnoticed.

"Wow your face is red," Amethyst snickered. "Did you see Sapphire or something?"

"As a matter of fact, I did," Ruby grumbled, but grinned nonetheless. Amethyst grinned back. "She works here, apparently. She's the piano player and singer."

"Who's Sapphire?" Rose asked eloquently. "Are you finally getting a girlfriend?"

"No, I barely know her," Ruby answered, fidgeting in her seat again. She knew what was coming.

"Well why don't you just invite her as your date to our wedding, whenever it is," Rose offered, pink curls shifting as she talked.

"That could be for months," Ruby protested. "And like I said, I barely know her."

"That gives you plenty of time to get to know her," Pearl crooned.

"You might as well get a double marriage with Rose and Pearl," Amethyst muttered under her breath with a smirk and Ruby kicked her under the table. Amethyst winced and stopped talking.

"I don't know," Ruby murmured uncertainly. "I don't even know if she's into girls, much less me."

"You're wonderful, Ruby," Rose sang comfortingly. "Don't doubt yourself." 

Ruby frowned. "Can we not talk about this right now?" she asked shakily and then forced a smile. "We came here to talk about you two."

Rose stared at her for a moment and then nodded, smiling softly. "So we're thinking about doing the wedding at that one garden a little ways from here."

"With roses everywhere," Pearl added, grinning at Rose. Amethyst mockingly retched.

"You two are so sweet, it rots," Amethyst commented, sticking her tongue out. 

"We'll figure out all the details later," Rose chirped, gliding past Amethyst's words.

"That's great, really," Ruby said, genuinely smiling. 

* * *

 

The group strolled leisurely out the Amber Comet restaurant and parted ways at their cars.

As she sat in Amethyst's old truck, Ruby couldn't stop thinking about Sapphire and how eloquently she played the piano and her voice was like golden honey and her eyes were so pretty-

"Yo, dude, you're zoning out on me again," Amethyst said, glancing over at her.

"Sorry," Ruby muttered, but her thoughts quickly returned to the woman with blue hair. They must somehow be connected, her and Sapphire. She'd never felt this strongly about anyone she just met before. Ruby refused to believe that whatever she was feeling wasn't real.

Ruby tuned out Amethyst's ranting and gazed out the window, watching the building pass.

When Ruby unlocked her apartment door and walked in, she immediately changed out of her suit and plowed her fist into the black punching bag in the corner of her room. Without wrappings around her fists, soon there were cuts opening up in the flesh over her knuckles. 

She took a moment to take a break and winced as she looked at the mess her hands became. She walked over to the small kitchen and grabbed some gauze from a drawer. 

As Ruby bandaged her knuckles, her thoughts drifted to Sapphire once again. She wanted to know everything about her; what she liked to do, why she worked at that one restaurant, what her favorite foods were, what her  _preference_ was, where she lived-

This was bordering on creepy stalker mentality.

* * *

 

Sapphire shrugged off her dark blue dress at home, the smooth fabric sliding off her shoulders fluidly. Her thoughts kept straying to the woman with vibrant red hair and the fiercest eyes, Ruby. She certainly didn't expect to see her where she worked; she didn't look like she lived in the lap of luxury.

She was cute, Sapphire had to give her that. Cuter than anyone she'd ever dated before, that was for sure. Until anything happened, she  couldn't rush things. And she knew something would happen.


	4. Coffee and Snow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this one's really short. But wow big things happen 10/10.

"Back again!" Amethyst exclaimed when Ruby entered the Crystal Gem. "Isn't it convenient that you're here ten minutes before Sapphire usually gets here?"

Ruby grumbled a noncommittal response and grabbed the coffee Amethyst had made her just a few minutes ago in preparation. Ruby didn't think too long on the fact Amethyst knew she was coming soon.

Ruby plunked down at the table she was at last time and set up her computer again. Amethyst looked over her shoulder.

"Why are you still working for that bogus newspaper company? Go follow your dreams and all that jazz," Amethyst said, settling down in the chair across from her.

"I'm working on it," Ruby muttered, her fingers flying across the keys of her old laptop. The truth was, she didn't know what it was she wanted to. For now, she was stuck writing articles for a crap company. She had only graduated college a short time ago, while Rose and Pearl had graduated a while ago.

Amethyst shook her head disbelievingly and got up again to go clean off some tables. Right on the dot, Sapphire entered the small coffee shop, now dressed in a long blue skirt and a large white sweater. Remaining flakes of snow fluttered in her hair.

She ordered a hot chocolate(without  an abundance of whipped cream, Ruby noticed when she glanced over) and a muffin sprinkled with blueberries and sat in her usual place, wedged between other tables and chairs. Sapphire looked up languidly from her hot chocolate, a fine mist steaming her vision slightly, and looked at Ruby. She looked up at the same time and her eyes locked onto Sapphire's. Ruby uncontrollably blushed again.

Amethyst reappeared again, as she always seemed to do at the worst time. "Now's your chance. Go bring up how beautiful her voice is or something." 

Before Ruby could protest, Amethyst heaved her to her feet and shoved her in the direction of Sapphire, who watched in amusement as Ruby stumbled over to her. A grin tugged at her lips as Ruby scratched her neck and started talking.

"Hey, so, uh," Ruby started awkwardly, blushing deeper. "I just wanted to say I saw you performing at the Golden Comet and you have a beautiful voice and you play the piano really well and you looked really nice, well you look really nice all the time, so-" Ruby winced. She was rambling and that was not a good way to start a conversation with someone she hoped to woo. She would look less ridiculous putting on a display with a bunch of feathers glued to her clothes.

Sapphire, thankfully, halted her train of thought by reaching forward and wrapping her hand around Ruby's. Her face flared up even more.

"Thank you," Sapphire interrupted earnestly, moving her thick bangs away from her eyes as she looked at Ruby. Could her face possibly get any redder? Sapphire was just so beautiful and perfect and agh- "I really appreciate that. Truth be told, I don't have many friends. It would be nice if I could talk to you again."

Ruby smiled sheepishly. "I'm sure that's not true, about not having many friends. You seem like a really nice person," Ruby confessed, glancing down at the cool hand still wrapped around hers. "And I would l-love to talk to you again." She mentally congratulated herself on not turning into a shaking mess.

Sapphire smiled back up at her and gently retracted her hand, wrapping it around her mug. "Do you have a phone?"

"Yeah," Ruby said with a nod, digging out her phone from her expansive pockets. She was a little too dazed to wonder why Sapphire wanted to know if she had a phone, much less notice the snow definitely not-melting in her hair.

"Can I see it for a second?" Sapphire asked softly, holding out her hand again. Ruby nodded again(in a way she hoped didn't look too stupid) and handed Sapphire her phone.

The other girl quickly typed her number into Ruby's phone and handed it back with a soft smile. "Text me later, okay? Maybe we can go do something."

Ruby just about combusted.

"Thanks okay I gotta go," Ruby hurriedly said, rushing away without waiting for a response, swept up her computer and put it into her bag, and muttered a fake excuse to Amethyst on her way out.

Was it possible to actually explode?

Ruby ran out of the coffee shop, weaving through alleys. Her face was still red. It felt like fire was coiling and then expanding in her chest and it seemed to sink down to the bottoms of her feet.

Ruby stopped moving when she felt a physical warmth moving underneath her. She looked down with wide eyes as a newly-ignited fire curled outwards from the ground under her boots, catching wind and growing like it was a living force.

Ruby opened her mouth to scream.


	5. Fire and the Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> FIRE FUCKING EVERYWHERE.

Ruby clamped her mouth shut hurriedly, a harsh gasp erupting from her mouth nonetheless. The fire smoldered softly, not burning her or her shoes.

She couldn't have been the cause of this, could she?

Ruby started breathing heavily in broken gasps. What did this mean for her?

She started running again, this time out of panic, and through another alley. The fire followed in her footsteps, like a friendly dog. Running, running, running, until her legs ached and her feet pounded in protest. Alley after abandoned alley she ran through until she finally stopped.

Ruby gulped down air and that only seemed to make her fire brighter. It was now curling around her legs, providing her with more warmth, but not burning her. The heat was stifling her; she was already sweating from her haphazardly running through the city, and the fire was just adding to it.

Running had halted her thoughts and now they came back full-force.

_This isn't natural, normal people don't set fire to the ground where they walk. Why did it start NOW of all times? She'd have to hide this for the rest of her life, otherwise she'd been seen as a freak. She would have to take up the life of a hermit-_

She started gasping for breath again, clutching her chest with stiff fingers. Her fire grew with her anxiety, curling up to encase her thighs, the tongues of heat whispering on her skin. 

A chilling wind swept over Ruby, smothering the flames partially so they died down to flicker at her feet again. Ruby looked up, her eyes wide and tears evaporating as they slid off her face. Her hazy gaze latched onto a familiar blue figure who took Ruby's hands between her own cool ones and placed a kiss on the back of Ruby's hand.

"It's okay, it's okay," Sapphire murmured, brushing away the tears lingering in Ruby's eyes and smiled softly. "I should've been there for you earlier, but I'm here now. I'm sorry for leaving you to run through the streets in this condition."

Ruby was too tired and confused to question anything Sapphire said and fell into her arms.

 

* * *

 

Ruby bolted awake, flyaway strands of red hair obstructing her vision. She swiped them away and looked around. 

Where was she?

Stars shone through a large window next to the bed she was in. It smelled of lilacs and hot chocolate and _Sapphire._ When had she memorized her scent? She pushed a blanket off, made of an expensive-looking purple fabric(silk?), and surveyed what must be Sapphire's room. It was very orderly, Ruby examined in the functioning part of her brain.

Then the memories of what had happened came flooding back, shocking her out of her daze. 

She struggled to take deep breaths, to reign in the coming fire before it started burning again-

"Sapphire!" Ruby almost sobbed, throwing off the probably flammable sheets and dancing off one foot to the other. The door flew open and Sapphire ran into the room soon after, bringing with her a cold winter air. 

She rushed in front of Ruby, interlacing their fingers together and murmuring to Ruby consolingly. A relaxing chill seeped into Ruby's fingers and into her muscles until her joints loosened. She let out a long sigh, falling into a slump. "What is happening?" Ruby asked brokenly, letting her forehead rest on Sapphire's shoulder and holding their intertwined hands between them. "Why is this happening?"

"I don't know. I'm sorry," Sapphire said, squeezing her eyes shut.

"Why are you apologizing? This isn't your fault. Whatever this is," Ruby whispered from her place on Sapphire's shoulder.

"But I could've been there sooner. I should have stayed with you," Sapphire admitted, tilting her chin down to rest on top of Ruby's head, her hair falling to cover her eyes.

Ruby was silent for a moment. "What are you talking about? This is all so confusing."

"Forgive me, we can talk about that later. Right now, we need to deal with the problem at hand," Sapphire said, lifting her head up again and retracting her hands to put on Ruby's shoulders, slightly separating them. "I have the ability to see into the future." Ruby gaped at Sapphire; that was hard to believe, even if she herself had only been on fire earlier. Sapphire continued, forcing a reassuring smile. "I can also manifest ice, but not very well. I didn't know I wasn't alone. But that's beside the point. I looked into the future to see you running out the coffee shop and then bursting into fire. I only saw this vision moments before I gave you my number, in case you needed help."

Ruby didn't doubt what Sapphire said, about seeing the future and being able to manifest ice. She didn't think Sapphire would lie to her. But despite herself, Ruby felt her heart sink. This woman, who had been holding her hands to keep her from bursting into fire again, was only interested in her because of a fragment of the future she saw. She tried not to let this disappointment show in her eyes. She would think about this later, like Sapphire said, they had bigger problems right now.

"H-how long?" Ruby started. "How long have you been able to do these things?"  And why did it seem like she had known Sapphire was  _different_ all this time? Like she had known Sapphire all this time?

Sapphire looked out the window with a sigh, dropping her arms and returning them to her sides. Ruby watched the action with a twinge of sadness. "I don't really know. It's hard to distinguish time now, because it seems so fluid, yet fixed at the same time. It's hard to explain. Around the time I first got these abilities, I just kept looking into the future to see what I needed to do, how to cope with this. Time became meaningless, until I saw my vision of you and it all seemed to fall into place."

Ruby's heart now thudded in her chest. Could that mean that destiny was real, that maybe they were fated to be together?

"I think it's been maybe a couple years?" Sapphire mused, finally looking back at Ruby. "It was hard at first, as it will be for you, but it will get better. I promise."

"I'm sorry, I'm still really confused," Ruby admitted, slumping without Sapphire to hold her up. "Can we talk more about it later? Do you have anything to drink at all?"

"Oh, of course," Sapphire exclaimed, eyebrows furrowing as she seemed to berate herself. "First I bring you to my place and I don't even get you anything to drink. Hold on." Sapphire rushed out of the room, leaving a chilly draft behind her. Ruby slumped back down onto Sapphire's bed, her back hunched. She couldn't conjure the effort to think through the implications of Sapphire's future vision and what this ability meant for her.

The other woman returned within a matter of minutes, carefully carrying a mug of tea, fingers wrapped tightly around it. "Here," she murmured softly, delicately handing Ruby the tea. It boiled between Ruby's hands for a minute until she collected herself and sipped it.

"Why only now?" she muttered. 

Sapphire settled next to Ruby, cautiously leaning closer so their shoulders were touching. "I don't know. From what I can see right now, the future holds no answers. Only hope." 

Ruby finished her tea and handed the mug back to Sapphire. "Is it okay if I sleep on your couch tonight? O-only because it's night and I don't want to get out of control again..." Ruby trailed off, curling even more into herself.

"Of course."

"... I'm sorry we had to meet like this, of all circumstances," Ruby finally said, glancing over at Sapphire. "I just thought... you seem so perfect and this isn't how I wanted it to go. This isn't how I wanted my life to go."

"Hey, Ruby," Sapphire said, softly turning Ruby's face to look at her. "I see you doing great things and living happily. My only regret is that I cannot tell you off all the things you do or it could distort the track of fate. You already jumped mine once."

Ruby smiled slightly, genuinely. "What? How?"

"The moment I saw you, I saw my entire future change. We're meant to do great things together," Sapphire answered, smiling back.

At that moment, Ruby burned. Her entire being burned with one purpose: to protect and help Sapphire in whatever way she could.


	6. Cold Water

Ruby curled up on Sapphire's couch, a fluffy blanket enveloping her. She stared out the window of the main room. Sapphire's loft was the highest in the building and the view of the city at night was beyond beautiful. Moonlight spilled onto her prone form, her breathing now steady. She decided she was too exhausted to remain awake and ponder all the questions drowning her mind, and her eyelids fluttered shut.

She only slept for a couple hours, if the position of the moon was any indication. Ruby threw the blanket off and padded around Sapphire's apartment. She smiled as her eyes went over a photo of who she assumed to be Sapphire's mother.

The soft light from the fridge washed over the room as Ruby burrowed through it, finally taking out a carton of orange juice. Pouring a glass of juice, despite herself, Ruby's heart plummeted and her temperature rose wildly as she thought of Sapphire holding her  hands and comforting her and agh-

She put the glass down before he dropped it, wrapping a hand around the counter and slumping against the cool surface. She couldn't lose control of... whatever this was in Sapphire's home. She at least owed her that.

Her fingers subconsciously fluttered up to her headband, yanking at it and burrowing her fingers into her dark red curls. Ruby winced when it knotted between her knuckles, hastily yanking her hands off her head, and got up to find the bathroom.

If there was one thing about Sapphire's apartment she noticed, it was that it was sparsely decorated. The bathroom walls were a simple light blue color and the only thing adorning the room was a shelf stocked with various supplies. Ignoring her curiously(admittedly mostly nosiness) she turned the cold water faucet and it came streaming into the sink. Ruby filled her heated hands with water and splashed her flushed face, droplets lingering in her hair. With tired eyes she looked up at the mirror, at her shaky, stocky form. 

She always felt like her appearance was always at least slightly off. While other women were curvy and soft, she was all rigid lines and muscles. She didn't overly mind it and usually dressed in baggy sweatshirts and athletic shorts.

Her curls had been died red ever since she could remember, and it complimented her dark skin. Her eyes, on the other hand, were abnormal. They were almost an amber color with brown tints, and people tended to stare at her because of this. It unnerved her.

Sapphire, on the other hand, was the complete opposite. Ruby couldn't help but notice, with her alabaster skin. She'd only gotten a glimpse of one bright blue eye, nonetheless she was beautiful. She was a goddess in Ruby's vision, and the times she'd seen Sapphire, she'd either been swathed in long flowing dresses composed of light colors or in a similar skirt and a turtleneck sweater- she even managed to pull that off.

How could she,  _Ruby,_ compare to that? Now she couldn't even think about the other woman without feeling like she was going to combust.

Which brought her to her other problem.

How was she going to learn to control whatever was burning in her? With a weak roll of her eyes, she tossed out the possibility of joining the circus. But famously, that's where freaks belonged.

Ruby stared at her reflection in the perfectly polished mirror. She swallowed, her tongue unpleasantly dry. She couldn't do this to Sapphire. Ruby needed to leave right now, before she accidentally burned the apartment down or hurt her. Before Sapphire realized trusting Ruby would be a massive waste of her time. She gulped again, painfully this time, and stumbled from the bathroom, tears gathering in the corners of her eyes, and managed to get to to the door of the apartment. She couldn't do this, she couldn't-

In the next room over, Sapphire jolted awake, flyaway hair obstructing her view, and yelled one word,"Ruby!"

She froze in shock, tears falling off her dark face, with one hand poised on the doorknob. Ruby could feel the heat radiating from her palm to the cool metal. She couldn't choke out a response, biting her lip to keep from  _burning._ Sapphire bolted from her room, socked feet skidding slightly on the wood floor. "Please stop! If you leave, something bad will happen. I don't know what, but I had a dream and you-"she prattled, one revealed eye wide and skin paler than usual.

Ruby didn't stop to consider the implications of what Sapphire was saying and darted out of the apartment, leaving a stock still Sapphire, her nails leaving imprints on her palm, ice shards crawling up her ankles. Ruby sprinted past the elevator and slid down the stairs. Sapphire shook her head violently and tore her feet from where they had frozen to the floor and chased after Ruby, already knowing Ruby was at the base of the stairs. Sapphire slid down the bannister, leaving a trail of ice shards down the railing. She heard the doors to the apartment building swing open, letting in the cacophony of sounds, the low drone of cars, boisterous laughter of passerby, the keen of the dog upstairs. Time itself seemed to freeze to Sapphire's will. 

She darted out into the road where Ruby stood dead center. Her dark eyes were dazed and her curls, escaping from her battered headband, flew around her face. Tears were lingering around the corners of her eyes. The image from her dream flooded Sapphire's head and she flew forward, her feet almost hovering over the ground as she wrapped her arms around Ruby and kept going until they were on the sidewalk.

Sapphire let out the breath she had been holding, nestling her face into the crook of Ruby's neck. The truck plowed down the road behind them, sending flurries of snow twirling in the air.

They both inhaled shallow breaths of the cold air around them, gulping as their hearts settled.

When Ruby could finally breathe again, she looked down. Their feet weren't touching the pavement. "Uh, Sapphire?" she murmured shakily.

"Yes?" Sapphire responded in the same inflection. 

"I think you're floating."

Sapphire's gaze shot down to where they floated above the concrete. Making a somewhat surprised sound, she concentrated on going back down. She watched with relief as they touched the ground again. 

When she looked up again, Ruby was staring at her.

"What are we gonna do?"

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading so far and I'll try to update regularly


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